Everything Nac

Select fine arts summer camps at Stephen F. Austin State University are back for 2021.

The School of Art will offer its Educators’ Summer Art Studio for high school, middle school, elementary and community college educators, according to Dr. Bill Nieberding, professor of art and coordinator of the session.

The studio experience offers a unique opportunity for teachers interested in the arts to work with professional artists using a variety of media and processes to explore shared experience and develop community among Texas arts educators. Participants will explore media and processes applicable to the art classroom and develop and refine studio art-making practices toward a goal of creating pin-up exhibition in the art galleries on campus. Due to Covid and space limitations, the workshops must be limited to 16 participants who will be accepted on a first-come first-served basis. Residential and commuter options are available. For registration and payment option information, visit art.sfasu.edu/summerartstudio.

The Art Academy will not be offered this summer but will return in June 2022. The School of Art may be reached at (936) 468-4804.

The School of Music will offer a number of camps this summer in limited capacity. For registration information, visit music.sfasu.edu/outreach to select camp options and view pricing.

The High School Band Camp will be offered as an invitational honors band camp June 13 through 18. Student inclusion in the camp will be predicated on factors including nominations submitted by school band directors and instrumentation, and enrollment will be limited, according to Dr. David W. Campo, summer band camp director. High school band directors may learn more about the camp and nomination process at bandoffice@sfasu.edu .

Due to logistical limitations, middle school band camp will not be held this year.

Drum Major camp is scheduled for June 20 through 24, and information will be posted soon at music.sfasu.edu/outreach.

SFA’s All-State Music Choir camp is scheduled for July 11 through 14 for large schools and July 14 through 17 for small schools. On-campus lodging and commuter options are available. The camp is designed for ninth through 12th grade students preparing for the TMEA All-State choir auditions. For questions, contact Dr. Tod Fish, camp director, at fishtod@sfasu.edu.

Strings camp is slated for June 27 through July 3 with on-campus residential and commuter options available. The SFA Strings Camp welcomes junior high and high school students. Students are placed into an orchestra based on placement auditions via video submission before camp begins. Young students should have either been involved in their school programs for one year or have completed Suzuki book 1 in private lessons. For more information, email the camp director, Ruby Ortiz, at sfastringscamp@gmail.com.

The Piano in the Pines Camp is also back in an in-person format July 18 through 23. Eligible students must be between grades six and 12 in the fall of 2021. On-campus housing and commuter options are available.

Students will get an opportunity to have daily private lessons with one of the piano faculty, receive coaching on piano duets or ensembles, and take supplemental classes in technique and history to improve their overall musicianship. Performance classes will help students prepare for performing on stage in a supportive environment while individual time in practice rooms between lessons will be given to refine their repertoire. The week culminates in performing in a duet/ensemble concert on Thursday, and a final solo recital on Friday in one of SFA’s concert halls. For more information, email the camp director, Mario Ajero, at ajeromp@sfasu.edu, call (936) 468-1389, or visit sfasu.edu/pianocamp.

The School of Music may be reached at (936) 468-4602.

The School of Theatre will offer both in-person and online options for the Junior Jacks Theatre Camp planned for Aug. 2 through 6 and Aug. 9 through 13. Access registration information and pricing at theatre.sfasu.edu/programs.php. The High School Summer Theatre Workshop will not be offered this year.

Junior Jacks Theatre Camp was started in 2009 to serve local youth while offering an opportunity for SFA theatre teaching certification students to teach students that are younger than high-school age. It was designed as a day-camp version of the well-established High School Workshop program. Children participate in theatre games, memorize and rehearse parts and perform for family and friends at the end of the camp. It is open to children entering third through ninth grades. Contact CC Conn at conncs@sfasu.edu for additional information.

The School of Theatre may be reached at (936) 468-4003.

Registration continues for summer lessons and camps offered by the Music Preparatory Division of the Stephen F. Austin State University School of Music.

Lessons are offered in piano, voice, guitar, cello, violin/viola and other instruments. Summer lessons begin on Tuesday, June 1, and continue through Friday, Aug. 6.

Guitar Camp, with Larry Greer as director, will be July 5 through 9. Classes are 9 to 10:45 a.m. for 10- to 12-year-olds, and from 11 to 11:45 for 13- to 16-year-olds. Cost is $60 per student.

Improvisation Class, taught by Mike McGowan, is open to all instrumentalists ages 14 and up. Students will learn the basics to improvising and creating their own melodies. Dates are June 7 through July 2, and classes are from 1 to 2 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. Cost is $100 per student.

Kindermusik classes are held on Saturday mornings and run from June 5 through Aug. 7. Kindermusik is an early childhood music and movement program based on the belief that every child is musical, every parent is the child’s most important teacher, and the home is the most important place for learning. Based on research, music nurtures a child’s cognitive, emotional, social, language and physical development. Classes for 1- and 2-year-olds are from 10 to 10:45 a.m.; classes for 2- to 4-year-olds are from 11 to 11:45 a.m. Cost is $70 per month, and sibling discounts are available.

Registration forms and more information can be accessed at sfamusicprep.com, or contact Music Prep Director Alba Madrid at musicprep@sfasu.edu, or call (936) 468-1291. The Music Prep House is located at 3028 Raguet St.

The 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing Brass Band will perform at Stephen F. Austin State University in a free concert at 5 p.m. Wednesday, May 26, in Cole Concert Hall in Wright Music Building.

The band of active-duty Marines is currently on a Houston-area tour under the direction of GySgt. Ken Ebo, who is also primary recruiter for the southeast region of the U.S. and is in charge of band auditions. Four additional Marine Corp recruiters will also be present at the concert.

For additional information, contact the School of Music at (936) 468-4602 or Sgt. Selena Benitez, Recruiting Station Houston, at (936) 203-2350.

Stephen F. Austin State University’s Office of Research and Graduate Studies recently awarded two honors and a scholarship to outstanding graduate students.

Presented annually, the awards recognize students dedicated to excellence in the pursuit of their graduate degrees. Daniel Morris of Lufkin received the Marilyn Odom Graduate Student Award; Christine Broussard of Nacogdoches received the William R. Johnson Outstanding Thesis Award; and Stella Westhoven of Village Mills received the Paul L. Boynton Scholarship for Graduate Study.

Marilyn Odom Graduate Student Award

A student in the DeWitt School of Nursing’s family nurse practitioner program, Morris knew attending graduate school while balancing family obligations and full-time employment as a critical care nurse at Woodland Heights Medical Center in Lufkin would be a challenge. What he didn’t expect was the wrench the pandemic would throw in his plans.

“My days have been filled with unimaginable anxiety, while several nights have been spent in isolation, away from my family, out of fear of potentially spreading the virus to them,” he said. “My study time often seemed beset by thoughts of the suffering of the ill and afflicted, but the understanding that I was preparing myself to provide a higher level of care for our community presented a semblance of hope that my efforts were for the greater good.”

Through the program, Morris has focused primarily on serving rural and underserved populations while working closely with faculty in the School of Nursing. He graduated in May.

“I will be forever grateful for the encouragement and guidance of those who are part of the program who have continued to believe in their students as we encountered an abundance of obstacles in the journey to becoming the newest generation of advanced practice nurses,” he said.

William R. Johnson Outstanding Thesis Award

When Broussard was deciding on a topic for her thesis while pursuing a Master of Arts in history, her mother suggested she research “something on Cajuns,” Broussard said. From a family of “Ragin’ Cajuns,” graduates of what is now the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, she has been fascinated with Acadiana from a young age.

“We would take trips often when I was little to see our Lafayette family, and it felt like the moment you crossed the state border, you had entered another world entirely,” Broussard said.

Her thesis examines how Cajun music, musicians and musical iconography played central roles in the culture’s popularization between 1960 and 1980, specifically uncovering connections between Cajun activism and the national folk revival movement of the same era. Through this, Broussard shows how Cajuns used music to subvert negative associations of their culture.

During a course with Dr. Mark Barringer, associate professor in SFA’s Department of History, she wrote a draft of what would be the second chapter of her thesis. With his encouragement, she searched for more information on the subject, diving into archived newspapers from across southern Louisiana and books focusing on sociological and theoretical studies.

Broussard’s advisor, Dr. Court Carney, played a pivotal role in the development of her thesis.

“He kept me engaged with the subject matter even when I was overwhelmed, encouraged me to present at conferences and introduced me to historians with special insight on my topic,” she said. “Random conversations with him led to some of the most fundamental portions of my overall argument.”

Paul L. Boynton Scholarship for Graduate Study

Westhoven has served as a licensed professional counselor for more than two decades, earning a master’s degree in counseling psychology in 1998, but after learning about the shortage of specialists in school psychology, she decided to enroll at SFA to better serve the southeast Texas area where she currently lives.

Pursuing a master’s degree in school psychology, Westhoven is working toward becoming a licensed specialist in school psychology.

“This will allow me to provide additional mental health, behavioral and educational services to students and to help them have a more successful school experience,” Westhoven said.

A proud SFA student, she has enjoyed working with and learning from the faculty during her time at the university.

“I truly have loved my time at SFA,” Westhoven said. “I have met some of the most helpful and knowledgeable professors, and the staff in general has been superb.”

Westhoven discovered the scholarship as her son, currently enrolled in dual credit classes at SFA, was filling out scholarship applications for himself.

“I feel extremely grateful for this award,” she said. “Returning to school to pursue another degree has been very rewarding, but there is a definite financial impact. I feel honored to be chosen and am tremendously appreciative.”

To learn more about graduate studies at SFA, visit sfasu.edu/academics/orgs.

By Joanna Armstrong, marketing communications specialist at Stephen F. Austin State University.